Exile in the Water Kingdom (The Elemental Phases Book 3)

by Cassandra Gannon

  Brokk’s handsome face creased into outraged lines. “I would never have intercourse with some random woman. I am awaiting my Match.” He gave a righteous, Eagle Scout sort of nod. “She deserves no less.”

  Cross and Tharsis both turned to glower at him.

  Ty had figured as much. Wood Phases never colored outside the lines. “When you touch other people, though, you never feel any energy?”

  “It’s impossible to feel energy with someone who isn’t your Match.” Brokk smiled condescendingly.

  Tharsis’s head snapped up. “Ohhhhhh… The energy.” His attention zeroed in on Ty, again. “Now, I get it.”

  “What?” Nia leaned forward. “What are these questions really about?”

  Ty frowned down at her muffin and didn’t answer.

  “She and Gion have some kind of energy between them.” Tharsis explained. “I felt it from four feet away when they touched. It just zapped.”

  “You can’t feel energy with someone who isn’t your Match.” Brokk stubbornly repeated. “It’s impossible.”

  “Well, I am feeling it.” Ty retorted. “So, impossible or not, it’s happening.”

  Nia frowned.

  “Grandpa Munster must’ve put the whammy on you, then.” Cross surmised, proving that he’d been spending way too much time with Tharsis. Not only did Cross feel more comfortable talking to the Water Phases, now, but human television contaminated his vocabulary. God only knew what her cousin’s pop-culture influence would do to poor Gion. “Who knows why, but Gion’s gotta be plotting something.” Cross ate another mouthful of cereal. “You should see Freya about it. See if you can’t get it fixed, before his evil spell spreads.”

  Ty hadn’t considered going to a doctor. She should have. Obviously, an expert on biology and Phazing energy would be the best place to continue her research. Ty was more determined than ever to find out what was happening to her.

  Ty didn’t just accept things. Not anymore. She solved problems and found solutions. Until she found the answer, she’d keep searching through the confusion. And Gion confused her. What Ty felt with him wasn’t natural. It couldn’t be.

  Except, it felt incredibly… right.

  The energy didn’t come from Ty or Gion. It came from both of them together. She and Gion generated something very much like Phazing energy. The books and computer research all agreed with Brokk and said it was impossible. Interviewing her family was another dead end. Freya was clearly the next best step in finding out why Ty’s life persisted in becoming such an anomaly.

  Ty slowly nodded. “That’s a very good idea, Cross.” She looked over her shoulder, again.

  He gave a little bow of his head. “My kid’s gonna be a genius. Just wait and see.”

  “Ty,” Tharsis began, “sweetheart, I don’t think Freya will be able to…”

  Brokk cut him off. “If you’re looking for Gion, he’s not here.” He told Ty. “The Black Hole left twenty minutes ago.”

  “Left?” Ty felt a jolt of panic. “Where did he go? Will he be back?” If Gion moved out, Ty didn’t know what she should do. She liked having him here. He couldn’t just leave.

  Nia frowned at her alarmed words.

  “Relax.” Brokk ate a bite of toast with Emily Post approved manners. “He just went to the human realm. He’ll be back.”

  “Shit.” Cross muttered.

  “It’s not safe for Gion to be out there alone.” Ty insisted. “He shouldn’t have gone. What does he even want in the human realm?”

  “I don’t know, but he brought that clipboard with him.”

  Chapter Ten

  When the elements were separated by Hate, what caused the Earth to keep its place?

  Aristotle- ‘On the Heavens’

  The human teenager wore a nametag that read “Steve” and a bright orange vest. Clearly not the smartest member of his species, he frowned like Gion spoke in Linear A. “What?’

  Gion drummed his fingers on the counter and tried again, slower this time. “Plexiglas. I wish to order some. This is a home supply store, I believe.”

  “Yeah, I got that part. But –like-- how much did you say you wanted?”

  “All of it.”

  “In the whole store?”

  “No. I told you, in the whole Plexiglas factory. All of it.” Jesus, it couldn’t be any clearer and still Steve looked baffled.

  “I think I need to call my manager.”

  “I don’t care if you have to call your president, just do it.” Gion waved an imperious hand at the boy and then checked his new watch. He wanted to get back to Water Kingdom and see Ty. After last night in the music hall, he didn’t want her out of his sight for long. Not only because Gion wanted Ty so badly that it was only a matter of time before he spontaneously combusted, either. The belated news that Parald had tried to rape her clouded Gion’s vision in red every time he thought about it.

  That sadistic bastard put his hands on Ty. Traumatized her so badly that she’d flinched away from Gion, anticipating a blow. He’d never forgive himself for not protecting her better. During the period before Ty and Parald’s official Matching ceremony, Gion had been out of his mind with fury and anguish. He’d done his best to avoid them both, scared of what he might do.

  And Ty had paid for it. She still feared that Parald would attack her.

  Gion was already considering some new justifications for moving up that asshole’s execution date. Maybe it would be safe to kill Parald when Ty was only a hundred and fifty. That was a scant fifty-four years away. She might be strong enough by then to handle losing her Match without a big risk, especially if Gion worked with her to strengthen her powers. Ty wouldn’t feel secure until Parald was dead, so the sooner Gion decapitated him the better.

  “Um, manager to customer service.” Steve said into the microphone. The words echoed through the store. “Some guy in a cape wants a special order.” He sent Gion a wary look.

  Gion rolled his eyes. You’d think he was trying to buy uranium. If only Elementals could create plastics, replacing the Water Palace’s windows would be so much easier. Dealing with humans gave him a headache. He’d never been inside a Home Depot before and he didn’t like it. All the open aisles behind him left Gion feeling exposed.

  Truthfully, Gion didn’t like much about the human realm. He’d picked the outskirts of Mayport Beach for his shopping this morning, mostly because it was the only human village he knew. Since the small town was infested with Elementals, though, Gion stayed tensed for an attack.

  Sullivan Pryce, the only known part human/part Elemental male in the universe, lived here. A constant parade of desperate Phase women followed that surly, half-breed around. Pretty much every available female who’d survived the Fall, saw Sullivan as their last, best hope for the Phazing. Personally, Gion would rather face extinction than deal with that miserable cop, but all the women lusted after him.

  The guy was a jackass.

  Ty was the only Elemental Sullivan seemed comfortable with, which was the real source of Gion’s antipathy. She doted on the human and Sullivan had actually touched her hair before Gion had. The human petted her soft, red curls and comforted Ty through a panic attack, while Gion could do nothing but watch.

  Sullivan might have been Parson, of the Wood House’s grandson, but Gion still wished the human nothing but horrible, disfiguring illnesses.

  He checked his watch, again. Gaia, the humans were slow. If Gion had been this incompetent in the Air House, he never would have survived his childhood. Air Phases weeded out the weak and stupid.

  He glanced over at Steve. Which, given the alternative, actually may have been the right choice.

  A small human carrying a set of paintbrushes stopped to stare up at Gion wide eyed.

  Gion scowled at it. “Yes?” He demanded.

  The child edged closer to him. “Are you Darth Vader?”

  Fucking George Lucas. Gion hissed out an annoyed breath. “I have been wearing this uniform for three hundred years. If an
ything, that idiotic movie copied me. I was here first.”

  The little boy frowned. “You’re the real Darth Vader, then?”

  “Yes.” Gion said flatly. “Go away.” He looked back over at Steve. “Is your manager in Beirut and commuting here? Shall we expect him sometime today?”

  Laughter sounded behind him.

  Gion turned around and saw the Quintessence standing there.

  She grinned up at him. “You are such a people person, hon. Seriously, you should host your own talk show. See how many guests you can drive to suicide every week.”

  Tessie, Keeper of the Quintessence and Queen of the Earth House, annoyed Gion. For over twenty years, he’d had the shit-job of protecting her and she never once listened to him. Instead, Tessie made him watch soap operas and almost got herself killed a lot. It frustrated him that, despite it all, she somehow made him sort of… like her. Tessie was the closest thing Gion had to a friend, which was a sad commentary on his social life.

  Thankfully, he’d passed the unrewarding task of watching her off to her Match. The High Seat of the Council and the leader of the Elementals, Job pretty much cleared Tessie’s path to do whatever she wanted. The guy a thousand years old and the most powerful Phase alive, but Tessie had him wrapped around her little finger.

  He might have scoffed at Job’s besotted indulgence, except Gion felt the same way about Ty.

  As it was, Gion knew that it was only a matter of time before Job showed up and started pressuring him to leave the Water Kingdom. The Water Phases were the teacher’s pets of the Elemental world. To Job, they could do no wrong. He watched over them like a mother hen and he wasn’t going to like Gion moving into the homestead. Especially, since Cross was his nephew.

  Tessie hoisted herself up onto the counter and looked around the store. “So, what are we buying?” She wore torn jeans and a black camisole top. A skull and crossbones decorated the front of it, made up of sparkly rhinestones. There was a pink, bedazzled bow on the skull’s head. “Never figured you for the DYI type, Guy.”

  Only Tharsis and Tessie ever called him that. Gion had long since given up dissuading her from the nickname, but he still held out hope that Thar could be stopped. “What are you doing here, Quintessence?” He didn’t bother to ask how she tracked him down. One of the many downsides to guarding the Quintessence was that she could always find you.

  “She came with me.” Nia announced joining the fun. “Tessie knows you better than anyone. I thought maybe she could talk some sense into you.”

  Gion jaw tightened. Perfect. He’d been doing his damnedest to steer clear of Nia, so far. She’d cornered him and threatened him up one side and down the other when she first found out about his new status as adopted Water Phase, but Gion knew that wouldn’t be the last of it. Nia was just biding her time before she pulled out the big guns.

  Ty may have been the queen, but Nia ruled the Water House.

  Of all Ty’s relatives, Nia was the only one who worried Gion. Pregnant or not, she was powerful, unpredictable, and fiercely protective of her little cousin.

  Nia could be a problem.

  Gion glanced back over at Tessie. “You’ll need to show me some certified proof that you even have any sense before I let you talk it into me.”

  “Oh please.” Tessie made a face. “I’m not the one sharing a house with my mortal enemies. You got blackmailed promises being cashed in, and people getting tossed through windows, and now this thing about sex and energy… It’s like you joined the cast of Jersey Shore, for God’s sake.”

  “I didn’t throw Cross through a window.” Gion stated truthfully. It had been a door. He looked over at Nia, trying to do some damage control. With Nia and Job on his side, Cross was basically untouchable. “It was an accident.”

  “Yeah, Cross told me.” Nia smiled sweetly, looking remarkably like Ty. Not as beautiful or captivating, but similar. They shared the same red hair and turquoise eyes. Nia didn’t wear glasses, though. Her unobstructed gaze reflected determination and mistrust. “You have another accident like that and I’ll accidently drown you where you stand, got it?”

  Gion arched a brow at that and refocused on Tessie. “The Water House isn’t my enemy, either. At least, not on my part. And there was no blackmail between Ty and myself. We had a legitimate deal. As for the energy I feel with her… that’s none of your business. Have we covered all you concerns?”

  Tessie stuck out her tongue.

  Gion couldn’t escape this whole nightmarish experience fast enough. He turned to Steve. “Would it be best for me use some of aisle three’s plywood to build myself a temporary shelter while I wait for the manager? Will I have to live here, now?”

  “Better here than in my House.” Nia put in sourly, while Steve went scurrying off to call for his boss, again.

  “What are you doing at Home Depot, Gion?” Tessie repeated. “It’s really not your scene. You’re really big and mean, and there’s the cape, and the whole ‘crazed serial killer on the loose’ glint you have goin’ on in your eyes… I mean, you’re not blending in with the locals.”

  “Believe me, I realize that.” A woman with a shopping cart full of hideous lighting fixtures gaped at him as she went by. Gion pinned her with “Don’t test me” look and she darted up the power tool aisle. “I’m trying to buy Plexiglas. Apparently that requires an entire team of humans.”

  “Buying Plexiglas?” Nia’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why?”

  “I collect it.” Gion sneered. “It’s beautiful.”

  Tessie snickered and reached over to pick up his clipboard. She flipped through the pages of measurements and calculations. “Windows, huh?”

  “I feel it advisable to actually secure the Water Palace. Dying horribly sound fun, too, but we might as well add a small bit of challenge for our adversaries. Keep things fair.”

  Nia craned her neck and studied the clipboard along with Tessie. Turquoise eyes flicked over to Gion. “Ty said you were looking after our security, now.”

  “I’ve actually handled the Water Kingdom’s security for a long while. Now, it’s just official.”

  She ignored that. “Encasing us in plastic is taking things to Fort Knox-ian levels of paranoia, don’t you think?”

  “Not to be trite, but it’s hardly paranoia if someone’s legitimately out to kill you.”

  “The glass in the Water Palace was made by the best Dust Phases.” Nia argued. “It’s priceless.” Dust Phases controlled small bits of sand like no other House. The glass they created was perfect; the clear panels like the purest crystal and the stained glass arranged in magical mosaics of color. Most of the Dust House’s greatest craftsmen died in the Fall, though, so their art couldn’t be replaced. What remained in the Water Palace might well be the last surviving examples of their greatest craftsmanship.

  Gion didn’t care.

  “You know what else is priceless? Ty. I value her life more highly than sheets of glass, so it’s all being replaced.” He wouldn’t risk Ty for anything, especially not useless memorials to the damn Dust Phases. Gion never liked any of those idiots.

  “You think Ty will let you rip apart our home, like this?” Nia gestured to the clipboard. “No Elemental House has plastic windows. That’s crazy.”

  “Ty said I could improve security as I saw fit.” Gion had no intention of budging on the matter. “If Parald or Chason gets into the Water Kingdom, the extra minutes it will take them to break through the Plexiglas could be the difference between your family living or dying.”

  “Well, if it’s so logical and important, why didn’t you put plastic windows in the Air House, then?”

  “I did have them in my room. The rest of the Air Phases were on their own. I’m a bit more committed to protecting the Water House.”

  “Why?”

  “Ty asked me to.”

  Nia wasn’t a woman to back away from a fight. Gion expected her to keep arguing. Instead, she looked down at the clipboard and sighed. “Well, try not
to break the windows when you switch them out, at least. They should be saved for future generations. It’s important to remember what we lost in the Fall.”

  He looked over at her.

  Nia stared back.

  A long moment passed.

  “What sort of energy do you feel with Ty?” She finally asked. “She’s my cousin and that is my business. Tharsis tells me that you’re in love with her. And now I have Ty saying that the two of you have some kind of Phazing energy between you.”

  “He does love Ty.” Tessie interjected and it dawned on Gion that she was mainly there to protect him from Nia. Amazingly, Tessie was on his side. “Gion almost killed Parald when the dude went after Ty at their Matching ceremony. She renounced him, Parald tried to attack her and Gion stepped between them, reaching for his sword. I saw it.”

  Gion frowned at her. “You weren’t there that day.”

  “Yeah, but Job was.”